by Harpreet Bhagrath | Feb 18, 2012 | Tutorials for Our Writers
Right tag words can mean the difference between many CM dollars (CM$s) and no CM dollars for you.
You get CM$s in proportion to the number of visitors your stories attract; so, high traffic means high dollars for you. And you increase the traffic propensity of your stories by providing better keywords.
For just the right tag words, think like a reader searching for a news; what specific words, phrases, or groups of words would he be thinking of to feed in the search engines? If you were to categorise the news/article/feature, which specific category will you slot it in? Think specific categories, not general.
As an example, here’s a link for you: http://www.thejourneyer.com/feature/20110201/rana_will_be_action_entertainerravikumar-32135.html. This TJ news has the following tag words: A. R. Rahman, action drama, celebrities, news, Ocher Studios Private Limited, Rajinikanth, Rana, Ravikumar, Robot, Soundarya, triple role. The right (specific) tag words/phrases would be Rajnikanth triple role, Rajnikanth robot, Rajnikanth action drama, and Rajnikanth Soundarya, and NOT Rajnikanth, celebrities, etc., which are very general categories.
So when thinking of tag words, don’t generalize. Specify.
Second, while thinking of specific phrases and words, make sure your tag words are like computer folders, in one sense. If you’re not going to put any more files in it, there’s no point having that folder. So don’t make a folder (read use a tag word/phrase) if it only has one file (read if you cannot categorise another news/article/feature under that tag word/phrase).
So, use appropriate, relevant, and well-thought tag words (based on the two ideas above), as opposed to adding them on carelessly. Providing meaningful tag words will only increase traffic (and your CM$s) to your news.
You can use as many tag words as possible, long as they all are meaningful.
Cosmos Writers Editorial Team
by Harpreet Bhagrath | Feb 17, 2012 | Fussy Editor
Hi, Jatin.
When your writers take a quote from within the text of the news with the intent of turning it into the headline, you (and they) have to see if that quote can stand alone and make sense to the readers.
This is the headline I refer to: “Due to certain date hassles I am going ahead with Rana”–RGV
Despite being such a long quote, it did not make much sense; we consumed so much headline space, and still said nothing meaningful.
The headlined quote has to be compact and appealing to the audience, make sense, and present the gist of the news. One or two of these four attributes can be missing once in a while in a ‘quote headline’, but on the whole, we try to cover all four.
I am sending a copy to Prerna as well.
by Harpreet Bhagrath | Feb 13, 2012 | Tutorials for Our Editors
Hi, CW editors.
Along with your daily editorial tasks, we need you to work on the standard operating procedures (SOP) file.
Your objective is to write down all your procedures and processes for the various jobs you do for your portals. For example, if you are writing your SOPs on the task of Topic Selection, just provide all your procedures and processes for this task, the resources you use, important steps you take from start to finish, possible problems and their solutions, etc.
For the sake of understanding, your ideal audience for this file is an editorial manager like you who has not worked in Cosmos Media but who has to fill in for you when you are gone for some time. So write down all the things this manager must know to do her job in your absence.
Here are all the tasks you do as the editorial managers at Cosmos Media. Try to write as much as you can on the following tasks.
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
- Writing
- Editing
- Topic Selection
- Forum Postings
- Liaising with Writers
- Managing
- Content Promotion
- Public Relations
When you think you are finished with this file, compare notes with me so that I can suggest improvements, if any.
Get in touch with me for queries and doubts. I’ll be happy to put you on the right track.
by Harpreet Bhagrath | Feb 12, 2012 | Tutorials for Our Editors
Jatin,
I have attached the list of PR companies and production houses that we have to maintain relation with. I have also attached my file on communication with these firms.
Your objective is to renew contact with these firms and maintain the relation in a way that they remember TJ and you.
To maintain a relation with them, we can receive and publish their press releases, movie reviews, star photos, help them publicise their movie releases, carry their trailers, etc. We can also interview PR firms’ clients or stars when a movie is being released. Anytime some big shot or big star is in Nagpur, you can personally interview him.
Kindly go through both the attached files. You have a file on who to contact and you have another file on how to contact them and what to write to them.
Kindly also try to fill the missing information in the PR contacts file. You need to keep this file updated, complete with latest contact information, contact person, remarks, what happened last with them, what communication took place between you and them, etc.
Discuss with me if you don’t understand something after going through the files.
by Harpreet Bhagrath | Feb 12, 2012 | Fussy Editor
Hi, Nilankeeta.
Kindly edit your writers’ copies thoroughly. Lately, we have found many mistakes in copied edited by you, especially Dr. Alvi’s. Below, I have taken up just one of the articles to discuss a few corrections with you.
http://www.ellemoney.com/featured/your-relationship-hurting-your-career-33148.html
Relationship demands commitments and compassion for each other but when foundations creep in it becomes unbearable and hard to tolerate.
In this sentence, I don’t understand the use of the word foundations. For the sentence to make sense, either the word foundations or the phrase creep in needs to be tweaked; like foundations shake or mistrust creeps in or suspicion creeps in. Foundations can’t possibly creep in; I can’t think of a situation where foundations might creep in.
However, a balance should be maintained between relationship and career.Here are some ways to handle your work and relationship as well:
Kindly correct the punctuation mistake. Plus, the second sentence could have been bettered. Something like Here are some ways to achieve that. Readers will have no difficulty understanding what does that refer to. The punctuation mistake in the para above was the absence of space before Here.
Keep your professional and personal lives separate and compartmentalized. Do not mix them. Never discuss your work life with your loved one.
This para contains an objectionable idea: never to discuss work life with your spouse. This will raise most readers’ brows, as spouses usually discuss work matters to let some steam out and marshal their thoughts. That’s one of the things spouses are for: sharing work worries. I’m pretty sure our credibility will suffer when we so pedantically tell our readers such an objectionable idea. Plus, we are using a very strong word here: never. Kindly ask your writers to go easy on strong words like never, unless such words can be justifiably used.
Give frequent calls, visits and gifts to keep the relationship alive and latent.
In Dr Alvi’s copy, I repeatedly come across mistakes in word usage. Here, the word latent has been used so wrongly. I think she wanted to use the antonym of latent, and mistakenly believes latent to mean its opposite. She should have ended the sentence at alive, which is close to being the antonym of latent.
There were other such issues scattered throughout the article, but I’ll stop here.
Kindly discuss this feature with Dr Alvi soon, so that she can minimise such mistakes.
